...The United States is a democracy. A democracy is a form of government where the people vote to make decisions. This form of government can be found in different countries around the world; however, the U.S. is one of the oldest countries with a democracy. The Constitution was written using five different principles of democracy. Three of the five principles are separation of powers, checks and balance, and federalism. Separation of powers is the fact that the federal government is divided into three different branches. We learn at a young age that the federal government is made up of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Having three different branches helps the power be spread out. Each branch as its own powers and responsibilities....
Words: 402 - Pages: 2
...Principles of Democracy Franklin D. Roosevelt described American democracy as “The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a president and senators and congressmen and government officials, but voters of the country”. Our government was created with the intent to oppose the oppressive monarchy of Britain. As a result, we created a democracy, which gives us the power to choose and elect who governs over us. American democracy is based on five principles, which include popular sovereignty, rule of law, and checks and balances. Popular sovereignty-- the idea that the power of the government lies with the people-- is a principle of American government. In our government, the opinion of the people is expressed through elections and majority rule. Majority rule allows US citizens to decide who represents them in Congress. Currently, candidates are running for Arkansas governor. there are four candidates--Mike Ross, Asa Hutchinson, Josh Drake, and Frank Gilbert. They will be elected on November 4, 2014 and the term will last for two years. Another principle of democracy is rule of law. This principle states that the law applies to everyone, even those who govern. In our government, we apply this principle by charing elected government officials when they break the law. For...
Words: 446 - Pages: 2
...History Government Common Essay To understand if the government of the United States is a good government, we must comprehend what defines a “good government”. A good government is one that has fair and equal principles, and that uses those principles to solve its social problems. I believe that the government of the United States is a good government because it enforces its public policies in a just way, it is a democratic system, and it was influenced by history. The government of the United States is a democratic government. This means that “the people” runs the government. One of the five values of democracy is worth of the individual. This means that the government values each and every one of the individuals live in this country. The second of the five basic principles of democracy is the equality of all persons, which means that all people in this country will receive a fair an equal judicial process. The third of these principles is majority rule/minority rights. This basic principle is evident in our legislature and in voting. The forth principal is necessity to compromise, which is evident in the compromises in the constitution. The last, and most important of the principles is individual freedom. The United States is known for its freedom and this principle is proof of it. A good government should be representative because if it is ruled “by the people”, it is the people that should elect their officials. The United States is divided into three branches: Legislative...
Words: 615 - Pages: 3
...with The Soviet Model and The Great Leap Forward, which were both movements to reform China into a communist government. Deng Xiaoping also made reforms, including the “open door” trade policy, education, and Institutionalization of Revolution. China stayed under dynastic rule for a very long period of time, but moving into modern times, their government shifted from dynastic to republican to communist rule. With the Qing Dynasty was still intact, the country of China began to be divided by spheres of influence (Vohra 72). However, after the Manchu government and empress Cixi fell out of power, Sun Yat-sen sought to create of a republican government for China. He introduced his idea of the Three People’s Principles, which consisted of the principles of “nationalism”, “democracy”, and “livelihood” (Gordon 92). Yat-sen believed that the emphasis on nationalism would bring the people of China together, who he saw as a “heap of loose sand”, and also get rid of the Manchus who were in control of the empire at the time (Gordon 92). With the creation of a republican...
Words: 1053 - Pages: 5
...Introduction In discussing the assignment question the paper will endeavor to first provide definitions and explanations for the terms; democracy, representative democracy, electoral systems, plurality system and proportional representation. The presentation will proceed to identify and analyze the merits and demerits of the plurality and proportional representation electoral systems with reference to the practice in South Africa and Zambia. However, the analysis on the merits and demerits of the two electoral systems will be preceded with a discussion on the relevance of elections in a democracy. In conclusion, the presentation will strive to augment the viewpoint(s) developed from the analysis and offer an opinion as to whether it would be beneficial for South Africa to adopt the plurality electoral system. 2 Definitions and Explanation The word democracy is one that has a variety of versions in practice and theory, however, according to Johari (2013, p. 491) almost all governments proclaim to be democratic.1 Hague and Harrop (2010, p.84) write that the core principle of democracy is self-rule.2 For the purpose of this discussion the presentation will adopt the version provided by Abraham Lincoln which defines democracy as government of the people, by the people and for the people. ( Johari (2013, p. 491) 3 It can therefore be deduced that democracy may be understood as a form of government which accords all its citizens a role in the governance system....
Words: 2558 - Pages: 11
...The Story of Indian Democracy 1. Interest groups are part and parcel of a functioning democracy. Discuss. Ans- Since India is a democratic country, this is why many of the interest group play different role to enhance democracy. • These all interest group always do competition among them and try to achieve better for their group, and in order to doing this they in fact enhance democracy by impartiality. • In working order they always present many types of example before other interest groups to monitoring way of work and pattern of work. • Since they always criticize to each other on the way of working and alert to one to avoiding corruption and in that way, they enhance and strengthen democracy. • It is universally truth without criticize...
Words: 981 - Pages: 4
...Indonesia as a Democracy A democracy is described as a government in which power and civic responsibility are shared by all citizens over the age 18, directly, or through elected individuals. Democracy functions based on majority rule and individual rights (Lord 2008). According to Dahl, there are five criteria that a country must meet to be considered democratic. He argues that a country must have inclusion, control of the agenda, enlightened understanding, effective participation, and voting equality at the decision stage (Dahl 1989). In addition to Dahl’s criteria, there are a number of other characteristics that make a country democratic. A democratic government allows adult citizens to elect their representatives - essentially the ability to fire and hire the representatives. Another important aspect in the democratic system is that majority rules in the election process, but individual rights are still protected. Next, a democracy must have individual rights. These rights include things such as freedom of religion and equal protection under the law. Another main criteria for a democratic country is free and fair elections. Free and fair elections must be held regularly for all levels of government with the opportunity to vote given to each adult citizen. For a country to be considered democratic, it must have citizen participation. Citizen participation is the key to democracy, with citizens having the right to express themselves and vote. Citizens living in a democratic...
Words: 1692 - Pages: 7
...How democratic is the European Union? The concept of democracy refers to the involvement of the people in political decision-making and also includes the ability of the citizens to hold their representatives to account, which are usually achieved through elections. Whether the European Union is democratic has been seen as a controversial question by a lot of people in the world. To some extent, the European Union can be described as democratic. Whereas, some people supposed that there is still a lack of democracy in some areas. The idea that the EU suffers from a democratic deficit is widely supported in academic circles. One of the reason why is that the EU institutions are remote for the people. The relationship between institutions is unclear and difficult to grasp. What’s more, some jargons are used in the EU, such as “double-majority”, “co-decision” and so on, which is complicated for the people to understand. All of these lead to citizens can not be involved in decision-making sufficiently. In addition, there is a lack of transparency within the EU, in other words, there are a lot of secrecies exist in the EU. Hence, the EU has always been an “elite project” driven forward by “ top decision makers with little popular enthusiasm for below”. Secondly, the powers of the EP is limited. As the only directly elected EU institution, are weaker than those of other institutions. The EP is unable to propose legislation and only has the power to propose amendments to laws. Elections...
Words: 824 - Pages: 4
...Politics is the science of running governmental affairs based on a ruling principle that shapes the identity of a nation. Politics in essence involves the art of forming, directing and administrating political units by a chosen set of ardent leaders who represent the interests of the majority of the people of the nation. The origin of politics dates back to early 2100 B.C with the monarchical rule practiced in the lands of Sumeria shaping the concept of legislation. But since the conception of the ideology of governance, the fairer sex has not had an equitable representation at the helm of decision making. In spite of being the largest democracy in the world, women’s representation is only 9.1 percent in the Indian parliament. In this male-dominated power game of politics, there are women leaders who have revolutionized the space of policymaking with their adroit and finesse. Listed below are the stories of five powerful female Indian politicians of all time who showed the world that women can be brilliant administrators. • Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, an Indian diplomat and politician, heralded as one of the world’s leading women in public life in the 20th century, was the daughter of noted aristocratic nationalist leader Motilal Nehru. She was an active worker in the Indian nationalist movement and was imprisoned by the British three times on accounts of her struggle to free India. In 1937, she was elected to the provincial legislature of the United Provinces and was designated...
Words: 866 - Pages: 4
...Introduction to Module 1 Introduction to Module 1 Hello Class and welcome to Module 1. Chapter 1 in your text is on The Citizen and Government. As you read this chapter you may wish to consider what kinds of citizen involvement fuel democracies? What ideals fuel American democracy and finally what are some of the changes and challenges facing America today? The Discussion Topic will deal with you Introducing Yourself and your views toward politics. Chapter 1 Learning Objectives Module 1Learning Objectives Having read chapter 1, students should be able to do the following: Module 1 Learning Objectives Having read chapter 1 students should be able to do the following: 1. Identify ways government affects our lives every day. 2. List the ways that the Identity of Americans has changed over time. 3. List and define the three main values on how America was built on. 4. Compare the different forms of government shown in this chapter. Chapter 1 Outline EBOOK Note: The eBook will open in a new window. Close the window to return to the course. OUTLINE Government Affects Our Lives Every Day 1. Americans have been reluctant to grant government too much power, and they have often been suspicious of politicians. But Americans have also turned to government for assistance in times of need, and they have strongly supported the government in periods of war. 2. One important reason for citizens to pay attention to their government in good times is...
Words: 1127 - Pages: 5
...“Ancient Greece had the perfect democracy” Ancient Greece did not have a perfect democracy. They established the roots of democracy and most of their ideas were accurate, but it was still quite far from perfect. Their system showed signs of racism, sexism, imperialism and corruption. In ancient Greece, women, the poor, slaves, and tax defaulters were not allowed to vote as they were not considered citizens. Neither were those who didn’t have citizen parentage on both sides. Only Athenian males above the age of 18 had the right to vote. Even though the status of women was lower in Athens than it was in many Greek cities, women were still not able to vote anywhere. This is extremely sexist, as gender should not change someone’s rights and the way they are perceived. These days slavery is considered illegal in most countries, however in ancient Greece, it was acceptable to have slaves working for you. A key part in modern day democracy is the right to vote for everyone, including women, tax defaulters and the poor. It can easily be said that their politics were more like an exclusive gentleman’s club then a democracy. Ancient Greek democracy can be described as being minoritarian, where a minority of the population (e.g. the male population) is eligible to a certain degree of dominance in society and has the right to make decisions that affect the entire society. Equality and freedom are both valued concepts of democracy, and if these concepts were not in place in ancient Greece...
Words: 749 - Pages: 3
...Buddhist Ethics and Thailand’s Politics First Last Name Name of University Date Thailand is a nation that has failed in its attempt to institute institutions of democracy. The main reason is the fact that all of Thailand’s post monarch history is scarred with various scenarios of coups d’e´tat against the previous military regime. The occurrence of coups d’e´tat is a really common event that Thai elite have come to accept it as the general order of life. Since 1932 when the monarchy was overthrown as a result of the people’s revolution, there have been a total of 19 coups in Thailand, 14 of which occurred after the Second World War. Questions have been asked regarding where this spirit originates from. Some scholars have suggested that religion and particularly the majority Buddhism has a great role to play it. In this paper, I shall be looking at the intricacies of this issue and come up with a possible solution to the question; is Buddhism to blame? To begin with, the history of the politics and coups of Thailand is important to understand. The first coup d’e´tat occurred in 1932 and was a peaceful one which was conducted by the elite who were dissatisfied about the ruling principles of the monarchy then. However, in their search for democracy, the military remained loyal to the monarchy and has time and again overthrown the democratic government only to reinstate the monarchy. Even during the Japanese occupation of Thailand during the Second World War, the monarch...
Words: 1463 - Pages: 6
...In order to begin to understand and analyze Dr. Peffer’s Theory of Social Justice, we want to first look at the five main principles. These principles are a Modified look at John Rawls’s “Two Principles” of Social Justice (1971). These five modified principles include The Basic Rights Principle, The Maximum Equal Basic Liberties Principle, The Fair Equality of Opportunity Principle, The Modified Difference Principle, The Social and Economic Democracy Principle. First of all, The Basic Rights Principle addresses the very fundamental issues of Security and Subsistence Rights. The Security Rights are described as the institutional responsibility to uphold the physical integrity and protection against threats such as murder torture. Psychological threats are also included which I believe is a great and underestimated point since that is often the more detrimental kind of abuse. The concept of Psychological threats is very hard to apply internationally due to the fact that proof of harm becomes completely subjective. This subjective nature makes it hard to be universally applied. In terms of these states and societal groups not engaging in these ‘extra-juridical’ activities, I cannot say I fully agree. I believe that in certain circumstances where the Security Rights of one person who is has violated that of others, can and should be sacrificed to ensure the security rights of others. A common example would be the interrogation of a known suspect with information pertaining...
Words: 5963 - Pages: 24
...The first three words of the US Constitution are “We the People”. How well does the American Government of today reflect the will of the American people In the spring and summer of 1776, Americans, angry and frustrated with an existing government, wrote these words. "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." Our government is only as good or evil as "We the People" allow it to be. It is a good concept and I do believe that was why the states elected politicians...to take the views that the people of that state, wanted to relay to the federal government..so each state could choose laws and run their states according to the will of the people...I was raised with the idea that the federal government was in place to take care of the road system and our army to protect us...the people of the USA against other countries...and everyone who became a Legal American citizen, agreed to follow the Constitution of the USA....I guess I have it all wrong...now if you say something "wrong" by other's view...you can go to jail for longer time than some people get hurting and killing someone......It is okay to kill an unborn...
Words: 944 - Pages: 4
...Francis Fukuyama. The end of the Cold War as the end of history. Introduction. The specifics of the international situation after the Cold War. Since 1985, the world is going through an amazing evolution. The interdependence emerged and has become a reality of understanding of all processes in the world. Peace, freedom, human rights, social security, democracy have taken place of those values, because of which the major battles were unfold in the international arena and within countries. Overnight concepts collapsed that before seemed unshakable. In this case, not only the political picture of the world changed . At large numbers of people in different countries sense of global community, solidarity, public interest, human intimacy has been strengthened . Not surprisingly, that the rapid evolution of the global situation, the collapse of the bipolar system and fade into the background of ideological aspects confused scientists specializing in political predictions. Now, it is necessary not only to explain the reasons which led to the formation of new political realities after the "cold war", but also suggest new approaches and concepts on the basis of which it was possible to trace the dynamics of international relations in a changing world. Francis Fukuyama, his works and intepretations. Francis Fukuyama - known American political scientist and geopolitician. He received a bachelor's degree from Cornell University (New York), then - PhD in political science from...
Words: 2329 - Pages: 10
